


The Straits of Devastation

by UltraElectroMagnetic



Series: Action Shorts from Tyria [1]
Category: Guild Wars
Genre: Action, Battle, Boats and Ships, Dragons, Gen, Other, Sea Monsters, Undead, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-08 19:12:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4316466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltraElectroMagnetic/pseuds/UltraElectroMagnetic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Pact launches an all-out offensive to take the Straits of Devastation and clear the passage into Orr. In the chaos, a ship captain and his crew are trapped in a desperate naval battle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Straits of Devastation

**Author's Note:**

> -Part of a series of action one-shots starring my Guild Wars 2 characters. Most of them will be origin stories.  
> -Yes, Diegovich is the name of my Engineer. Corny, I know.  
> -This one is set during the game's Personal Story, and is my interpretation on what happened in between the time Trahearne set out to rebuilt Fort Trinity and the time the player character actually arrives at Fort Trinity.  
> -Seirensen is a reference to Touhou 12

"It's going to explode! Jump!" Diegovich cried out as he ran across the deck of the ship, scooping up his harpoon gun from a weapon rack as the ship began rattling from large rotten plague explosions from below decks. The smell was unbearable, as lethal toxins were unleashed from below.

He leaped from the stern, and the chain reaction of explosions reached a critical point, blowing up the ship entirely, the force propelling Diegovich even further. The last he saw of the ship were the shards of wood that flew past him, and the scraps of canvas floating in the wind, canvas that used to make up a sail.

It was chaos. All around the straits, Pact ships were locked in deadly combat with Risen Orrian ships and other foul undead creatures, and the skies filled with smoke and fire from Airships dueling with Undead Dragons. Diegovich looked down. He was falling fast, into the dark and dreadful waters of the Straits of Devastation. The world around seemed to become black as he impacted the water; strangely enough, he didn't feel a thing when he hit. He couldn't taste the foul water, nor smell the stench of undeath. He only felt the cold.

* * *

Dawn broke on the Straits of Devastation, the body of water separating the Tyrian mainland and the Elder Dragon Zhaitan's Risen Kingdom of Orr. The races of Tyria have united against the undead threat of Orr, forming an alliance known as The Pact, with the three major Tyrian orders, The Vigil, The Durmand Priory, and the Order of Whispers, at its center.

For months, Pact forces have fought a battle to drive the undead Orrians out of Tyria. They had finally reached the Straits. Now the next stage began: the Invasion of Orr to defeat Zhaitan and cleanse the dead Kingdom of its undead curse.

That was much easier said than done, however, as the straits were infested with Risen. While the Tyrian mainland was still full of life and resolve to battle the corruption of the Elder Dragon's, the Risen Orr was completely Zhaitan's. There was no life in Orr now, only death and undeath, and all that walked or swam in its domain served Zhaitan.

The Straits of Devastation were no different. Nearly everything that moved under the water was undead. Nothing was spared, not the turtles, or the sharks, or the common fish. Many a foolish smuggler or pirate ship attempted to brave the waters to desperately reach the Sea of Elon, and each was sunk beneath and turned, bolstering Zhaitan's defenses. The Pact had to stop it. They had to overcome the straits.

Today, they would make it happen. After a week of fighting along the coasts at the foot of the Steamspur Mountains, the Pact had temporarily withdrawn its forces.

There were too many Risen coming out of the shore, and the unfinished Fort Trinity was sealed before it was surrounded by Risen forces. Marshal Trahearne had ordered a massive counter-attack, using combined Naval, Airborne, and Ground forces to retake the coastline, relieve Fort Trinity, and conquer the Straits in one decisive offensive.

The first stages were a success. Fort Trinity received reinforcements via the Asura Gates within the ramparts, and as the main Pact ground force poured into the coastal area from their staging point at the foot of Mount Maelstrom, Fort Trinity's bolstered garrison sallied forth and together the two forces routed the Risen. Meanwhile, the combined Pact and Lionguard fleet smashed the Risen fleet defending the entrance to the Straits. At the same time, Pact Air forces held Zhaitan's Dragon Champions and hordes of flying Risen Knights at bay, preventing them from wreaking havoc on the ground and sea forces.

The heavy frigate,  _Seirensen_ , was sailing at the head of the second battle line of the combined fleet. Captain Diegovich was at the helm of the  _Seirensen_ , his ship, which he named in an old Canthan fashion. The frigate was built for speed, while still retaining power in a battle. She was a long ship, with triple masts, and one gundeck, with 32 guns for broadsides, plus four bow chasers and two mortars. Alongside the captain was its crew of sailors and marines, mostly Human, Sylvari, or Asura due to the compact design of the ship, and the crew was oftentimes bolstered by Pact soldiers and adventurers that paid for passage around the Sea of Sorrows.

_Seirensen_ used to be a privateer ship, working under contracts with the Kingdom of Kryta, as well as Lion's Arch. After joining the Vigil, however, Diegovich used the ship to aid the Pact's operations against the Risen in the Bloodtide Coast, Sparkfly Fen, and other areas around the Sea of Sorrows. The crew had no objections, especially after the attempted Risen invasion of Lion's Arch.

The vanguard was already entering the Strait of Malediction, bombarding the Elysium Beach on the Orrian coast as they went, with the second line of ships was not far behind.

In the first few hours of the naval operation, the fleet of Risen ships protecting the entrance to the Straits of Devastation was completely destroyed by the Pact fleet in an engagement that lasted only 2 hours. The Pact naval forces had another two hours of spare time to tend to wounded and repair their ships before the ground forces signaled them to begin their advance into the straits. The sky was fogged, dark, and cloudy, but it was always like that over Orr nowadays. It didn't downcast the Pact navy's spirits one bit.

_Seirensen_  came out of the initial engagement untouched, and ships that received the most damage were sent to the back of the fleet. The fleet's objective was to sail through the Straits, splitting into two groups: one to move into Terzetto Bay and support the Pact ground forces on the Steamspur coast and Fort Trinity with reinforcements and cannon fire, and another to sail through the Strait of Sacrilege to bombard the northern coast of Orr. The ships would keep moving and turn around when they reached the Shark's Tooth Archipelago, with both groups of ships bombarding the archipelago as well.

The strategy ensured a constant line of ships providing a steady stream of cannon fire. That is, of course, if the ships could navigate through the Straits smoothly. They did expect resistance, but the Pact fleet was so large and the Risen fleet was defeated. Or so they thought.

A large number of ships had already entered the straits when some of the vanguard ships stopped, while the rest slowed down, as they entered the Strait of Sacrilege.

"Reduce sail!" ordered Captain Diegovich, seeing the vanguard of ships slowing down. His first mate, a Charr named Barbatus the Big, roared the captain's order to the crew, and immediately after, a Sylvari crewmember, Gaelle ran to the ship's stern while holding two flags; she waved her arms in a pattern, signaling the ships behind, then running back to the ship's bow.

"What's happening captain?" asked the ship's marine sergeant, Arthur, a Krytan and former marine in the Seraph navy.

"Something's not right, Arthur," Diegovich replied, "The vanguard is moving too slowly."

Gaelle came back to the helm of the ship, panting.

"They say there's something in the water!" reported the Sylvari.

"Of course there's something in the water," said Barbatus, "but there's nothing blocking the way, and we need to keep mov—"

The ship rocked as it came to an abrupt stop. They hit something big.

"What was that?!" Arthur called out. Before an answer could reach him, the bubbling and shaking of the water beneath them stunned the crew with silence.

Suddenly, a large creature burst out of the waters beneath the vanguard, ripping through the hulls of two ships before revealing its true form: A Dragon Champion of Zhaitan. One of the damaged ships was sinking fast, but the other still managed an attempt to turn away. The Dragon unleashed its corrosive breath on the other ship, killing or stunning most of the crew on the upper decks and rendering the ship disabled. Before the other ships in the vanguard could maneuver to fire on the Dragon, more figures rose from the depths of the water, and this time they were Orrian Dead Ships that immediately engaged the rest of the crippled vanguard. The Dragon flapped it powerful wings and quickly ascended out of the range of the ships and joining the battle in the sky.

* * *

At that same moment, Diegovich's ship maneuvered itself out of whatever it hit and began to move forward again. They had already been overtaken by the ship behind them, the  _Flaming Roar_ , a 74-gun ship-of-the-line from the Lionguard Navy. The battle line was already broken as the other ships scrambled to help the trapped vanguard ships. As they sailed forward, however, more Orrian ships rose from the Straits' bottom. They were all around the haphazard and broken formation of Pact ships.

"Dead Ships, Captain!" shouted Plonkk, the Asuran sentry on the top of the mainmast, "Dead Ships starboard, Dead Ships port, Dead ships everywhere!"

"Load cannons! Round shot!" Barbatus ordered the gun crews.

Two large Dead Ships instantly came upon  _Seirensen_ , and only then did Diegovich realize the error the Pact Fleet had let slip during the opening victory: the larger Orrian Dead Ships were missing.

In the open waters of the Sea of Sorrows, the Orrian Fleets were no match for the Pact and Lionguard combined fleet, which were advanced far beyond the fleets that Cobiah Marriner led against the Orrian Fleets many years ago. The main advantage of the Pact's ships were their speed and weapon range. The Orrian Dead Ships were slow but tough, and their projectiles travelled slowly as well. Zhaitan must have learned this from past engagements. In the narrow, tightly packed, and treacherous Straits of Devastation, the Pact's ships had to move slowly, and they had nowhere to maneuver. With the Pact forced into close quarters combat, the slow moving Orrian ships had a much better chance against the Pact.

"Fire broadsides!" shouted Diegovich, "Both of them!"

All 32 cannons of  _Seirensen_ were unleashed, and at point-blank range, none of them missed a mark. From the two Dead Ships, howls resounded from killed Risen, but both ships were still bearing down on _Seirensen_.

"Reload quickly!" Barbatus roared. The Dead Ships were so close that the crew of  _Seirensen_  could see the Risen Pirates and Soldiers waiting for the opportunity to board, and instead of hurling giant rotten Orrian fish-heads, the massive undead tendrils began striking at the  _Seirensen_  instead.

Marines and Sailors began firing at the tendrils and the Risen crews with their rifles.

"Load the Mortars with chain!" Diegovich ordered, "Target those tendrils!"

A few tendrils managed to embed themselves onto the ship's upper hull, forcing  _Seirensen_  to halt.

"Prepare to repel boarders!" Arthur told the crew as he fixed a bayonet to his rifle.

Risen Pirates began climbing the tendrils, using them as bridges to reach the  _Seirensen_  and other Pact ships that were trapped. Other Orrians just jumped toward the ships and climbed up the hulls if they missed.

"Cannons, fire at will! Take those Dead Ships down!" shouted Diegovich, who held up his rifle and fired at a Risen Pirate climbing a tendril, disabling the pirate and forcing him to fall into the water.

The Frigate fired another double broadside as Orrians and other Risen began leaping and climbing onto the ship's upper deck. A group of marines had formed a firing line and unleashed a volley of shot at a group of Orrians that jumped onto the deck, before charging into the fray and fighting with their bayonets.

Diegovich and Barbatus protected one mortar while the gunners were loading it, while Gaelle and Arthur protected the other. Plonkk was sniping Risen boarders that were trying to climb the tendrils to the ship; his advanced rifle was pinpoint accurate and could blow a standard Risen Pirate apart with one shot.

As the melee raged on the upper deck, the gunners on the lower deck continued to reload and fire their cannons, but with few people manning the cannons on the upper deck,  _Seirensen_ 's firepower was greatly reduced.

"Mortar's ready, cap'n!" a gunner announced.

"Fire," said Diegovich.

The mortars each fired two cannonballs that were linked by a chain. The left mortar managed to hit and break the two tendrils attacked by the Dead Ship on the portside of  _Seirensen_ , while the mortar on the right only hit and broke one tendril from the starboard Dead Ship.

"Get those sails out! That last tendril can't hold us!" Gaelle pointed out.

The Dead Ship on the portside maneuvered itself even closer so its crew could easily jump aboard. The Orrians threw rusted hooks tied to rotted rope attaching the Dead Ship to  _Seirensen_ , trapping her again. More Risen came aboard.

The crew was starting to strain from the non-stop fighting, while the Risen were relentless. Fortunately, the Dead Ship's maneuver allowed another Pact ship, a 50 gun ship-of-the-line, to come up on the other side of the Dead Ship on  _Seirensen_ 's portside, and unleash a point-blank broadside to the Dead Ship's hull that caused the ship to sink at a very fast rate.

Diegovich ordered full sail and got back on the helm, turning it to port and ramming the sinking Dead Ship, causing it to sink even faster, while at the same time another burst of cannon fire caused the second Dead Ship to start sinking, as well as break its last tendril. Diegovich wanted to get the ship as close as possible to Fort Trinity, in case the worst happened, but his ship was still dead in the center of the Strait of Sacrilege. Looking forward, he saw the vanguard was near completely annihilated by a swarm of Orrian Dead Ships. Diegovich noticed serpent-like creatures coming aboard the sinking Pact ships: Risen Krait.

Another Dead Ship burst forth from the waters, this time right in front of  _Seirensen_. The bows of the two ships faced each other, but  _Seirensen_  had no ram on its bow, while the Dead Ship had a large and heavy bone ram on it.  _Seirensen_  fired its bow cannons to little effect. They could not stop the Dead Ship.

Diegovich attempted a hard turn to port, but the Risen ship was moving too fast and would ram his starboard side.

"Brace!" he ordered.

But the Risen ship was interrupted by a massive jet of flame fired from another ship,  _Flaming Roar_ , which was named for the powerful flamethrowers that were installed in place of bow cannons. The _Flaming Roar_  also had a huge steel ram, and before the Dead Ship impacted  _Seirensen_ , the  _Roar_ smashed its ram into the Dead Ship, stopping it completely.

Diegovich turned the helm back to its normal position and ordered his starboard guns to fire. The  _Seirensen_ 's cannons fired at the Dead Ship, aiming high, and the cannonballs ripped through the Orrian ship's three masts, as well as its upper decks, while  _Flaming Roar_  quickly turned and unleashed its own devastating broadside into the side of the crippled Dead Ship, causing it to start sinking.

Diegovich and his crew cheered as the Dead Ship sank below. An armored steam-powered ironclad battleship crewed by noisy Charr soldiers moved past  _Seirensen_ and began firing cannons, flamethrowers, and machine-guns into the mass of Orrian ships ahead. Several heavier ships, like the first-rates which had over a hundred cannons, quickly followed, while the smaller ships-of-the-line, the frigates, and the other smaller vessels limped back from the carnage. The naval battle for the Straits had become a heavyweight fight, and ships like  _Seirensen_ , which relied on speed and maneuverability, were handicapped and vulnerable. Diegovich received word that the fleet admiral had ordered the smaller ships to withdraw from the Straits if possible and let the line ships and ironclads do the heavy fighting.

Unfortunately for  _Seirensen_ , they were right in the middle of the Straits, and to withdraw back to the Sea of Sorrows would mean to squeeze their way through the chaotic battle happening in the Strait of Malediction. Even if the Pact was winning in that area,  _Seirensen_  would get torn apart in the chaos.

Diegovich decided on the safest option, which most of the other smaller ships were taking: sail into inner Terzetto Bay, where the water is shallower, and closer to the Tyrian shore. A large portion of Terzetto Bay was also in range of Fort Trinity's array of artillery, which included trebuchets, cannons, and megalasers; the smaller ships had a better chance of surviving the battle there.

"Barbatus!" Diegovich called his first mate, "get on the helm! Take us to Terzetto Bay! As close to Fort Trinity as you can!"

"Aye, Captain!" answered the Charr in approval.

* * *

The Battle for the Straits was now a total mess. There were ships everywhere, and everyone was fighting. The Risen ambush was succeeding, even if they were losing the battle; more Pact ships were sunk than expected, and more would definitely be sunk as the battle dragged on. A Risen victory seemed unlikely, but a Pact victory would be at a terrible cost.

_Flaming Roar_ sailed close to the  _Seirensen_ ; the two ships would support each other as they crossed the Straits. The  _Roar_  was already heavily damaged since it was bigger and slower than  _Seirensen_ , making it a better target for Orrian projectile attacks.

The two ships were already being pursued by more Orrian ships. The  _Roar_  slowed down as she was hit by another volley of fire from the undead ships. She wasn't going to make it to Fort Trinity, not with those Dead Ships hammering her hull with exploding Orrian fish; her crew decided to go out guns blazing.

"Captain," Gaelle called, "We need to help them!"

"They're not going to make it, Gaelle," replied Diegovich.

"If we don't do anything, they surely won't," said the Sylvari.

"Barbatus?" the Captain asked, turning to his first mate.

"The  _Roar_  looks too beat up; she'll sink, but I can't just watch her get turned," the Charr said, "we may be able to save some of the crew, at least."

"Alright. Turn us around," Diegovich ordered, "we'll rescue as many of them as we can! Move fast and—"

_Seirensen_  came to an abrupt stop, causing most of the crew to fall to the deck. A sailor who was climbing the rigging fell into the water.

"Man overboard!" yelled Plonkk.

"What was that?" asked Diegovich. The ship was snagged again, and in the middle of the Straits. The overboard sailor was calling for help. Diegovich turned to see Flaming Roar had already turned and was firing a broadside into the pursuing Orrian ships. She was going to make a stand against three Orrian Dead Ships, and Seirensen was stuck out of range, unable to help.

"Get that man out of the water," Diegovich ordered, "and get us moving!"

The shouting of the sailor intensified and turned into terrified screaming before a line was thrown at him. It was too late; his screaming was suddenly silenced when he was pulled under the water.

"Gods…" Arthur whispered, looking to Diegovich, who was also frozen in fear. They both knew what was happening. The captain quickly got ahold of himself. He had to get the ship moving.

"Risen Krait!" Diegovich announced, "Prepare to repel boarders! Load the cannons with grapeshot!"

The sinister hissing of the serpentine Krait coupled with the smell of rotting flesh was enough to put the crew into panic. Live Krait were fearsome enough, but undead, they were horrifying. They were waiting, clinging on to the bottom of the ship, out of sight from the cannons.

The marines and sailors on the upper deck had their weapons at the ready, waiting for the Krait to make the first move. All the while,  _Flaming Roar_ was getting surrounded by the Dead Ships. The crew of _Seirensen_  could hear the cannon fire and the melee on the decks. It was frustrating; they could only watch and wait as their allied ship was slowly overwhelmed by undead.

"Steady, boys," Arthur cautioned his marines. One of the sailors got impatient and ran toward the edge. He peered over for an instant, and was impaled by a roped harpoon, which was quickly reeled back, pulling the dead sailor into the Straits.

Several Risen Krait leaped up from the waters, throwing their spears onto the deck, impaling several sailors and marines. The undead Krait landed on the deck and drew their blades, as more Krait leaped up into the ship. Others began climbing the hull of the ship.

"Cannons, fire!" the captain ordered. The grapeshot, compacted masses of small metal balls, turned the ship's guns into giant shotguns. The cannons ripped apart the Krait attempting to climb the ship, as well as several Krait that were in mid-leap.

The Krait were large and agile, even when undead. It took several human sailors or marines to take one down, or one determined Charr.

Barbatus unloaded all his pistol shots on one Krait, killing it, then drew his two blades and charged into the fight. Diegovich and Arthur were firing at the boarding Krait from the quarterdeck. Gaelle was a very agile fighter, holding off two Krait Damoss by herself, but not able to kill them. Plonkk could barely get a shot off in the chaos.

Diegovich loaded a net shot into his rifle, and fired it at one of the leaping Krait. The net caught the Krait and made it fall and stumble violently onto the deck, where it was stabbed to death by spears.

Gaelle was able to kill one of the Krait pursuing her as a sailor distracted the other by embedding his boarding axe into its skull. The Krait did not die however, and cut off the sailor's arm before Gaelle intervened and finished the monster.

Arthur walked down from the quarterdeck, dropping his rifle and picking up a blunderbuss, which he fired point blank at a Krait, resulting in its head being ripped to shreds and blown off.

Plonkk and the other crewmen atop the masts were occupied firing on the Krait that were attempting to climb up to the sails.

Barbatus, who was in the middle of the fighting, managed to behead a Risen Krait with one swoop of his sword, before disarming another, chucking a grenade into its mouth, and throwing it back into the sea to explode. Barbatus was reckless, however, and caught a spear to his back. The Charr roared in pain, but quickly dispatched the Krait that managed to hit him.

The Krait were repelled, for the most part, but many sailors and marines were killed or wounded in the process; Barbatus had a poisoned spear in his back, and Gaelle was badly bruised. The ship was still stuck, and the Krait had damaged the mainmast. It was only a matter of time before they continued their attack.

Meanwhile, Diegovich watched in horror as  _Flaming Roar_  was dragged to the depths. The Lionguard ship was already sinking, having lost all its masts, and most of its crew, when suddenly, the flamethrowers burst into life, spitting fire, and setting alight the Dead Ship in front of it. What followed was the engulfing of much of  _Roar_ 's bow by fire, and finally, a massive explosion as the fires ignited the ship's powder magazine. The  _Flaming Roar_  was completely destroyed, lost with all hands, but it took three Dead Ships with it. No one could have survived that explosion.

A loud and menacing roar echoed from the sky. Diegovich and his crew looked up to see a flaming Pact Airship falling from the sky, followed by a Risen Dragon Champion, who was still flying, but evidently wounded from taking down the Airship and unable to remain in the upper sky.

The Risen Dragon instead joined the naval battle, attempting to bowl smaller ships over with its mass and speed, or crippling larger ships with its corrosive breath. The Pact navy wasn't unprepared, however, and mortars and cannons loaded with flak soon began firing at the wounded dragon, deterring it from doing maximum damage.

Diegovich turned around to see that only one mortar was still usable.

"Load that mortar with flak," ordered Diegovich.

"Already done, captain," replied one of the gunners.

"Captain!" Plonkk called out, "More ships approaching! Dead and living!"

The explosion of the  _Roar_  must have called the attention of other ships. Looking to the ship's bow, more Orrian ships were approaching, at least five, and to the stern, three Pact ships were sailing to help: another 36-gun frigate, a 74-gun third rate, and even one first-rate, which had three gun decks with over a hundred guns, and extremely thick hulls. The support of a first-rate could turn  _Seirensen_ 's circumstances around completely, but they were slow; the Risen ships would arrive first.

Plonkk observed some large splashes in the distance in Terzetto Bay, but they seemed too far to be a threat.

* * *

As Diegovich feared, the Risen Dragon spotted the isolated  _Seirensen_  and saw it as easy prey. The Dragon quickly began flying toward Seirensen, with the intent of smashing into her and flying right back up, likely destroying the ship in the process, and leaving the survivors to the Krait.

"Brace for impact!" yelled Arthur, "Abandon ship on my order only!"

"Steady on the mortar," Diegovich instructed, "We only have one shot!"

The Dragon drew closer, and opened its gaping mouth as it prepared to dive for the kill.

"Fire!"

The mortar was fired and the flak round exploded on the Dragon, a direct hit, causing it to recoil and screech in pain, releasing corrosive breath as it flew back up.

"Down!" shouted the captain. The crew turned away and covered themselves as best they could from the Dragon's poisonous fumes. The Dragon was too far up to hit much with its breath, but it caught the upper portions of the ship.

Diegovich could hear screaming from above; a sailor who was covered in the Dragon's corruption jumped down into the water in desperation. And then a small, disfigured, and tortured corpse fell from the mainmast: Plonkk.

Diegovich got back up as Plonkk's body was brought down to the lower decks of the ship with the rest of the bodies; dumping them overboard would be giving Zhaitan reinforcements. Barbatus was lying on the deck, dying from the poison, while Gaelle attempted to heal him. Meanwhile, Arthur was organizing what was left of the marines. Diegovich helped the sailors prepare the cannons for their stand against the incoming Dead Ships.

"Load all the guns! Get ready to make a stand!"

They just had to survive long enough for the other Pact ships to arrive. But against five Orrian ships, with an immobile, damaged frigate, it seemed near impossible.

The splashing that Plonkk spotted earlier had gotten closer. Arthur observed it closely.

"Captain!" he called, "It's a battle! Underwater!"

"What?" Gaelle responded.

"Fort Trinity must've deployed its submarine squadron," Arthur said.

Diegovich surveyed the splashes. There were definitely submarines there, but they were fighting something. Something big. There was another large splash, and with it, a huge dorsal fin came out of the water before descending again. It was a Risen Megalodon.

They noticed one of the submarines breaking off from the fight and heading to the  _Seirensen_. The Risen ships were closing in, and with the Seirensen stuck in position, it could only open with its three remaining bow chasers.

The submarine fired two torpedoes in the direction of the _Seirensen_.

"Are they mad? What are they doing?" Diegovich asked to himself.

"Don't worry, captain," Arthur told him, "those torpedoes are too deep to hit us."

Two torpedoes impacted and exploded under the ship, and just like that, Seirensen was freed from the Krait trap.

"Open the sails!" Diegovich ordered. Sailors rushed to open the sails, and when they did, several sails and pieces of rigging fell off, weakened by the dragon's corrosive breath. The ship still moved, however, though it was slower.

Diegovich took the helm and turned the ship so that its starboard side faced the bows of the approaching Risen ships.

"Fire!"

Seirensen's remaining starboard guns flashed and fired, sending cannonballs into the front Risen ship. The cannonballs raked through the ship from stem to stern, disabling its tendrils which the Risen ship used for hurling projectiles and as boarding bridges.

As Diegovich's gun crews desperately reloaded the cannons, the Pact frigate,  _Elonian Dervish_  arrived to support, firing its portside cannons at another of the Dead Ships, drawing their attention to it.

_Seirense_ n then began to make a beeline for Terzetto Bay, firing its cannons at the Risen ships if they got close. She had the wind with her, despite her damaged sails, and she was outrunning the Dead Ships.

"Port! Port!" shouted one of the sailors. Diegovich saw it: the gigantic dorsal fin of the Risen Megalodon.

"Harpoons! Spear it! Before it gets too close!" Arthur frantically ordered, with him picking up a harpoon gun and firing it at the Megalodon, which was gaining speed fast.

Diegovich attempted to steer away, but the Megalodon was already on them. The titanic undead shark leapt from the water, and no amount of harpoons or muskets would stop it.

"Get down!" shouted a sailor. The Megalodon smashed through the central and aft masts, Diegovich ducking under the massive creature as it soared over the main hull and back into the water, taking two of  _Seirensen_ 's masts with it.

_Seirensen_  was now crawling through the water. Its foremast was not enough to carry the ship at speed.

"What are we going to do, captain?!" howled a distraught sailor, "We lost the mainmast and mizzenmast! We're doomed!"

"Not yet, lad," Arthur tried to calm him, but he was breathing heavily as well, with three Risen ships quickly gaining.

"You hear me?!" Diegovich shouted, "We're not done yet! Not without a fight!"

The crew cheered their last hurrah before making their last stand.

As the ships got in range, they began hurling toxic Orrian fish-heads at  _Seirensen_.

The Orrian fish had a harder punch than they seemed. They could clear the upper deck of a ship if too many of them hit. As more and more piled up on the _Seirensen_ , more crewmen were killed and unable to move around, forcing them to take shelter in the lower decks. The noxious gases also began to take effect on the already fatigued crew, and sometimes large bits of fish clogged the gun ports, and even the cannons themselves, preventing cannons from returning fire. What's worse, was that all the fish were set to pop, giving a small explosion of toxic waste and flammable gas. Individually, it wasn't threatening, but too many…

Diegovich and his crew desperately fought off the Dead Ships surrounding  _Seirensen_. The crippled frigate was still firing her cannons, and her sailors and marines still fought with determination, but the guns were reloading slower, and the Orrian fish were piling up, and weighing down the ship.

Some of the fish had already started to pop, and a small fire had started on the gun deck. Diegovich was firing his guns and hurling grenades at a Risen ship that had stopped alongside his frigate and began dropping Risen pirates and other Orrian boarders onto his ship.

But now, the crew had much less fight in them. The Risen quickly overwhelmed whomever was left on the upper deck, slaughtering the exhausted sailors and marines that were still making a stand.

Diegovich looked to his first mate, Barbatus, who lay dead on the quarterdeck, already succumbed to the Krait poison, a terrible way for a fierce Charr to die.

The explosions were getting louder and more intense. Soon it would reach the powder magazine, and the ship would be blown sky high. Gaelle was limping through the deck, still fighting hard, while Arthur was cut down by several Risen pirates.

The smell was unbearable. It was over. There were still crewmen trapped in the lower decks, but there was nothing that could be done for them. Diegovich had to at least try to save the ones that could still escape.

"Abandon ship!" he ordered, "Get out!"

The explosions were rocking the ship. He only had a few seconds.

"It's going to explode! Jump!" Diegovich cried out as he dropped his grenades and rifle to pick up his harpoon gun. He leaped from the stern as the explosions rattled his ship apart, the fires reaching the powder magazine and exploding, sending him even higher before he began to fall into the deathly waters below.

He fell into the water. He didn't see anything. He didn't feel a thing, except the cold. For a moment, he thought he was in Grenth's embrace. And then he woke up.

He could see through the murky waters. There were explosions everywhere. Pact Submarines and brave divers battling against hordes of Risen. The explosion of his ship must have driven them away from where he was, at least for a moment. He couldn't move. He could only turn his head a little, and the last thing he saw was an arm of bark and hard wood: all that was left of Gaelle.

He could not bear it anymore; the taste of the foul water, the fatigue of his body, and the loss… the loss of everything, everyone, and just when he had gotten them so far, and so close to safety. It wasn't enough.

There was a reason this place was called the Straits of Devastation. Diegovich now realized why, as his eyes were closed again.

* * *

Coughing. Heavy coughing. Water. Diegovich awoke. He was alive. He looked around and saw the walls of Fort Trinity. The batteries of Caer Aval.

"You're up!" a medic said as he rushed to see Diegovich.

"We're glad you made it, commander," said another Pact soldier.

"The battle... the straits..."

"We've won, at a high cost," reported the soldier, "Risen still infest the straits, but their fleet is now completely destroyed, and the Orrian air forces have been driven back to the mainland."

"My crew," Diegovich blurted out, "Did anyone… did…"

"I'm sorry, commander," replied the Pact soldier, "There were no other survivors."

Diegovich leaned back and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes again. And he swore he would not return from Orr until Zhaitan was defeated and Orr cleansed. He would not go home until his crew, his friends, his ship, were avenged.


End file.
